When I was a kid, my mother used to complain all the time about why I always forget to turn off the light when I leave the room. I never understood why she got so upset with me.
Ultimately, electricity is always there in abundance, all you have to do is flip the switch, right?
As it happens, I grew older, and the moment I started paying my bills, I understood why she was preaching me all these years. Nowadays, I’ve done so much research on the topic, I nearly consider myself an expert!
Contents
- 13 WAYS TO LOWER YOUR ENERGY BILL
- Hang clothes on a drying rack
- Use a crockpot/pressure cooker
- Buy an old-fashioned wood stove
- Don’t wait any longer to switch to LED light bulbs
- Turn off the heat in rooms seldom used
- Turn the heater down by a couple of degrees
- Stop using your oven to heat meals
- Use the off-peak hours to your advantage
- Install a water heater timer
- Let the sunshine in
- Insulate your house
- Put bubble wrap on windows
- Don’t waste your money on ghost energy
13 WAYS TO LOWER YOUR ENERGY BILL
All joking aside, if you ever wanted to learn how to reduce your electricity bill, and do so in the easiest way possible, read the article below and start doing it today!
Hang clothes on a drying rack
Got a dryer? Get rid of it.
Drying racks are very inexpensive, and contrary to popular belief, don’t take up too much space (some models are specifically built for smaller rooms).
Of course, the biggest advantage compared to clothes dryers is the fact that they spend no electricity whatsoever. It will take anywhere from a couple of hours to a whole day for your clothes to dry up completely, but after a while, you will automatically start to plan for your washing cycles in advance.
Give it a week or two, and you won’t even notice the difference.
Use a crockpot/pressure cooker
You might not even realize that your oven plays a major factor in the consumption of electricity.
Still, if you enjoy homemade meals, should you really give that up, just to save a few bucks? Nope, it turns out that you don’t have to change your lifestyle.
All you need to do is get yourself a pair of ultra-energy-efficient kitchen utensils, such as a pressure cooker and crockpot, and continue making those delicious dishes you enjoy so much.
Buy an old-fashioned wood stove
To some, this move might seem kinda radical, but sometimes, the best progress you can make is to take a step back. The wood/coal stoves have now become practically obsolete, but it’s never too late to revert back to the traditional ways.
Ultimately, the savings you will make when you move on from your electric stove to the wood one will quickly convince you that this was the right choice to make.
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Don’t wait any longer to switch to LED light bulbs
Sure, I’m well aware that these things cost more than the ones you’re already using, and this is probably the main reason why you’re still sticking to your ways. However, LED light bulbs last 12-24 months on average!
Can you say that for your regular bulbs that seem to malfunction every other week? Plus, they waste a lot less electricity, so they’ll pay themselves off in no time.
But is this really worth it?
My friends were facing the same question prior to moving into their new home. They quickly found out just how much lighting this new house had when the electric bill came at the end of the month. That’s when they decided to make a change.
They searched the web to track down the best prices and found out that Home Depot was the way to go. Their initial investment revolved around $40, which might seem like a lot.
However, at the end of that month, the electric bill showed a saving of $25! Naturally, their kids were still always leaving the lights on everywhere, so they tackled that problem and had it sorted out during the following month.
What was the outcome? The initial electric bill stood at $140 when they first moved in.
Fast forward just to two months later, and that dropped all the way down to $102! These days, they are trying to convince everyone that LED is the way to go. It’s hard to argue with the results.
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Turn off the heat in rooms seldom used
My parents employ this tactic during the cold winter days. Ever since I moved out, my room upstairs is rarely being used, so they decided to stop wasting energy on it altogether. Once they tried it out, and noticed that the bills dropped by about 20%, they never looked back.
Turn the heater down by a couple of degrees
There’s nothing wrong with wearing a sweater and a thicker pair of socks indoors during those chilling winter months.
Besides, it’s sometimes nice to cuddle under your favorite blanket and watch a movie while it’s snowing outside.
Stop using your oven to heat meals
Instant pot or microwave will do this task just fine, there’s no need to be wasteful.
However, when it comes to energy expenditure, the situation is pretty lopsided in favor of these two practical machines.
Use the off-peak hours to your advantage
Power consumption is not always the same throughout the day. Similarly, there are different price brackets for the amount of power you use up at any given moment.
If you decide to use your washing machine, dishwasher, or heater during the off-peak hours, you’ll be using cheaper-rate electricity; hence, your bills will drop significantly.
Install a water heater timer
This inexpensive device is a life-saver. It’s incredibly simple to use as well.
All that’s needed is to set up a timer for your preferred hours, and your water will heat up when the electricity is at its lowest price.
Let the sunshine in
I never understood why people hide from the sun. My college roommate used to shut the blinds whenever possible, and then turn on the light.
I remember thinking that he was probably the only person on planet Earth to do such a thing, but this weird behavior is more wide-spread than you might think.
As it turns out, there’s another reason why you should favor natural light over the artificial one, and it comes down to money-saving! Either way, this one is a no-brainer to me.
Insulate your house
Why let all that energy slip away? Now, I know that insulation can be very expensive, trust me, I’ve been there myself, but it pays off eventually. This is especially true for spaces that people often choose to ignore, such as the attic and the foundation.
Put bubble wrap on windows
Now, I have to be honest for a second and admit that I never actually attempted to perform this task. In theory, it should work. Unfortunately, it’s not a very aesthetically-pleasing solution, to say the least.
Still, if you have a couple windows in the attic that no one can see, you might want to give it a go and place a bubble wrap on that sucker. Let me know how it turned out!
Don’t waste your money on ghost energy
Unplug unused appliances and chargers. Believe it or not, a small amount of electricity is used even when those things are not in use. If something is not in use, it is not plugged in.
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Peter is a serial entrepreneur and founder of DollarSanity blog who created and ran a variety of businesses. You can learn more about him at the DollarSanity About Me page. He’s been featured in the Washington Post, Yahoo Finance and MSN Money.
I never even knew that hot water heater timers existed. Thanks for writing!
How do you find the off-peak hours for electricity?
Call your electric company and ask them. The peak hours for our electric company are 5-9 am and 4-8 pm.